Hudson's life after his Osteosarcoma diagnosis.

Today is a big day. It’s my six month ampuversary, and I couldn’t be more pumped! It is hard to believe just how great I feel now. I feel even better than I ever did on 4 paws. My endurance for walks has increased 10 fold from my first few weeks as a Tripawd, I can play for ages with my favourite pups, and my energy is just as high as ever. I truly am a happy little guy and I can’t wait to catch you up on how life has been since my last post.

When I last posted, summer was in full swing and I had just had my 2nd birthday. The rest of my summer was filled with loads of sunshine, fresh air, and plenty of my favourite activities (swimming, playing with Kona, long walks, and several pupsicle treats and frozen strawberries).

Also since we last chatted I started going to a chiropupter (they are the type of Dr. that cracks and moves all your bones and makes you feel real good). On my first visit the chiropupter made me do all sorts of exercises, like walk and run and hop up on a box, so that she could see how I moved. Before she got to work on re-aligning me my pelvis was hunched in and my paws would be really close together to stabilize me. I was also really sore in my hind legs and pelvis. I was really tentative when she started to examine my lower body. But she was really good and calming and started with my front legs, head and spine before going to my pelvis. As soon as she realigned my pelvis I felt a huge relief. She sent my pawrents home with some plank exercises for me to do to strengthen my core, and away we were for the car ride home. After my first visit I was so tired (it was an hour appointment), and my mommy and Eddy said I needed a full days rest before any plays, so I slept the rest of the day away. The next day my pawrents noticed a big difference in me, I stood straighter, my bum didn’t hunch down, and my legs could go further apart. Just this past Monday I had my third chiropupter appointment, and she said I am a whole new dog now. I have kept my alignment, and I have nearly the same standing stance as a 4 pawed pup. I now don’t have to go for another appointment for 6-8 weeks.

In further medical news, I started taking CBD oil on my food, once a day, since the end of the summer. On my last appointment with my regular Dr. he had suggested to my mommy and Eddy that if they wanted they could add CBD oil into my daily routine, as it has shown some capabilities for tumour suppression, as well as its great calming and pain relief benefits. We all figured it was worth a shot! I now take it daily, and am slightly more calm as a result, so I hope the other benefits are working too.

Other than that I have been loving the transition to Fall and the cooler weather. I especially love when my pawrents rake up the leaves and I jump in piles!

Next month I will have another chest scan to see if everything is going smoothly (“cross fingers”), but everyone seems to think I am doing really well, and I am truly loving life. I will make sure to update you all when we get the results.

I apologize for my hiatus. But, I assure you, it has been for good reason. I have simply been loving life these past two months getting used to the new me. I swear, life is better than it was on four paws, if you can believe it. There is so much to update you all on, so lets dive in!

Firstly, I am done chemo!!!!!!!!!! And all I can say is good riddance to that! When I last updated you all I had just recovered from a particularly bad reaction to my first round of chemo. My doctors got ahold of the specialists in various vet colleges and decided to give it another go, but to reduce my dose by 15%. My pawrents were very nervous for my second round, considering how hard the first one was on me, but I walked in all confident, and let the professionals do their thing. Thankfully, it went really well, and I had little to no side effects. My third and forth rounds went even better. They finally realized that I was getting pretty used to the process and let me not be sedated for my third round. I was so calm, I even let them trim my nails with no fuss. I again had no side effects, and felt even better because I wasn’t groggy. Finally, on July 4th I had my last round of chemotherapy, one week to the day before my 2nd birthday! It was the best gift ever. My Mommy asked the Dr. on my last appointment if he wouldn’t mind taking a picture of my lungs. My Mommy had really happy tears in her eyes when he told her that everything looked clear. That night we had a big party. I got a new toy and a special treatsy to celebrate!

And even more big news! I moved from the city to the country near where my Blair lives! My Mommy and Eddy surprised me mid June by moving all of our things to the country. This was the best surprise ever, as I now have my own yard! I just love sitting outside and smelling all the wonderful smells. My Eddy and our new neighbour (who has a really awesome dog who I get to play with almost daily) built a fence around our yard. So now I can run around with nothing to hold me back! Also, we hosted our house warming last weekend and I got to invite friends too. I invited my friend Kora from the city, who I missed very much.

Speaking of my Blair, he got a new puppy! Her name is Kona (yeah, I know.. all my closest friends have names: Ko_a; I swear it’s not a requirement) and she is quickly becoming one of my best friends. We get to see each other so often. She has that puppy craziness, but I love it. We even snuggle sometimes.

On July 11th I celebrated my second birthday. And I swear, if feels like it has been my birthday every day since. My Mommy and Eddy decided to spread out my birthday cheer by giving me a new little toy, treat, or bone for a few days. And then, they surprised me by packing up a few of our things and heading for a big car ride to go meet up with family at a cottage by the Ocean for 5 days. So many of my favourite people were there, including my Martha and John. There were even 3 other dogs there to play with. I was so excited every morning (it felt like Christmas!) that I woke up as soon as the sun got up (I don’t know how everyone else could have been sleeping) and wanted to go on a walk to explore the area. I had so much energy every morning that I had to go for two walks to even feel slightly tired. Also, I was a little nervous at first, but I finally swam again! It felt so good to jump into the water, swim to get a ball and come back to my Mommy or Eddy, just to turn around and go for another splash. It was simply the best time.

Also, this past week, my brother Koda came to my new house, and we had a belated birthday party. I got to show him my new home and yard, and we traded gifts to one another and had such a great time.

So all that combined has lead me to be living my best life yet. My Mommy, Eddy, and I are just so happy right now. Everything is back to a “new” normal, and we all can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer holds.

I have not updated my blog lately, and I do apologize, but it has been for good reason! I have been absolutely loving life, and enjoying every second that I haven’t had the time to get my Mommy to type my stories. So much to catch you all up on, so lets get to it…

When we last connected, I was living in the country with my Mommy and Eddy, and I had just gotten my IV taken out. That day I had really started to feel myself, but that was only the beginning. We stayed another night in the country and I enjoyed every second of it. We went on little walks to explore all the local sites and smells, and we played inside with my favourite toys. I never wanted to stop! It was so fun. We woke up the next morning, and I got to snuggle with my pawrents while they tried to sleep in. But, I was far to excited to get to seizing the day.

We ended up packing up and heading back to the city later that morning. However, before we got home, we had to make a quick detour to the Dr. I had to get a blood and urine check to make sure, for one, that my blood levels were good from the chemo, and two, that my urine levels were better after my scare last week. And guess what? I passed with flying colours! So that means, if everything goes smoothly (and I intend it to) no more Dr. appointments for 10 days!!!!

We then took the short drive from the Dr. to home, and I was so excited to sniff all the familiar smells of my local streets. It was really nice to get back to normal. And boy did I feel back to normal. I felt the best I have been feeling in months, since before my injury and my cancer started.

Throughout the week, my pawrents have seen me continue to improve. They have noticed me getting stronger, as my appetite has come back, so I can build my muscle with good nutrition. They have also noticed the cheeky side of me come back too. Sometimes I get carried away and forget I am not supposed to bark loud at them to get their attention, or to not nip at their heels when they aren’t doing what I want them to do. But, hey, whats a boy supposed to do! I feel great and I want to enjoy every minute of it!

And guys… the best thing ever happened this week… I GOT TO PLAY WITH MY BROTHER KODA!!!!!!!!

I haven’t seen Koda in months, MONTHS (seems like years to me). So hearing that he was going to come for a visit made my bum wiggle at full speed. He didn’t come for a long visit, like he used to before, but it was the best time. He barely even noticed that I was missing a leg, can you believe it? He was actually a little frustrated that he couldn’t take me down by that ankle like he could before (being half border collies, that is kinda our play tactic). So I used this to my advantage and had the best time. And the best thing was that I didn’t get too tired from the play. I wasn’t even sore at all the next day, just right back to my normal crazy self.

So that’s my update. I have been loving life, feeling good, and getting to get back to the things I enjoy most in life.

I have been missing in action these past few days because my pawrents and I have been attending to my health. As I mentioned last time, the first day after chemo was rough for me. I wasn’t feeling good, and didn’t want to eat or do anything. But, I ended up turning around for the weekend, and was back to my, relatively, normal self. Well, Monday came, and things took a bit of a dip…

I woke up on Monday morning to Mommy being thrilled to see me up lounging on the couch (I hadn’t slept on the couch overnight since before my surgery). When she was waking me up, I had a sudden sensation down below and started liking up some wet dribbles. My mommy was then surprised to see that the other bed I had been sleeping on most of the night had a big wet mark on it. I had peed to bed in the night for the first time since I was a pup. I was a little embarrassed that I couldn’t hold it through the night. I don’t even know what happened.

Thats not all, I didn’t want to eat anything that morning. My Mommy, knowing my appetite had been a bit funny since after my chemo, picked up some meats, yogurt, pumpkin, and other goodies to get me through, as I definitely was not interested in having my kibbies. But, come Monday morning, I didn’t want to eat any of those things. My pawrents ended up putting on quite the fuss of making the food look good, and made it sound interesting enough (definitely not Broadway convincing performances) that I ended up having a few bites of this and that. They even managed to get an anti-nauseant pill into me (they thought I didn’t notice).

After my morning pee and having little nibbles of food, my pawrents were off to work, and my Eddy got me back in one of my t-shirts, and I was in my crate like normal. Mommy was the first home from work later that afternoon, so she came to let me out. When I got up we both realized that my shirt was absolutely soaked in cold pee, and so was my mat in my crate. My Mommy cleaned me up before my Eddy came home.

We then all went down for what I thought was our normal walk, but turned into a car ride to the Dr. Mommy says that I already had an appointment booked this afternoon because she found one staple still left in my incision. But, when the Dr. came in, Mommy also told him about my lack of appetite, and my wetting of the bed (much to my embarrassment). To test out my appetite, my Dr. asked one of the technicians to bring in the “super tasty treats” to take my attention away from getting my staple out. She brought back kangaroo jerky, one of my old favourite treats. But instead of making me drool, like normal, it made me feel yucky, and I turned my nose away at it. My Dr. then knew something more must be happening. So, after I got my last staple out (which was a walk in the park. Didn’t even feel it!), he got my pawrents and I to go out for a pee and bring some back for him to see why I might be wetting the bed. He then sent us home with some canned foods to try and boost my appetite, and told my Mommy he would call her when the results from my pee test came back.

We had only just parked the car when she got a call. I am not sure what all they talked about (because it seemed like forever), but I heard something about my pee having sugar and protein in it. Last I smelt, my pee was just pee, not sugary. Apparently sugar and protein aren’t supposed to be there, so that meant my kidneys weren’t doing there job, and the doctor thinks that may be connected to me not eating and not being able to hold my pee.

That night, I felt terrible… I didn’t want to eat anything. With some convincing my Mommy got me to eat some salmon, but that was all I wanted. I just didn’t feel very good. I kept being unable to hold my pee. I was exhausted. I didn’t want to play. And my pawrents seemed really sad. It was a rough night.

That night I peed in all my beds. I couldn’t hold it together at all. When morning came, I immediately wanted to go outside again. I just couldn’t stop peeing. When I came back inside, I refused everything they tried to make me eat. Not even salmon did the trick.

I then saw my Mommy pack up the food I was refusing in a bag. And, to my surprise, my pawrents, although they were dressed for work, took me with them to the car. I quickly found out that we were headed back to the Dr. When I stepped on the scale, I heard someone say that I had lost 2kg in the past few weeks (thats 1/10th of my body weight!).

So, this time, it wasn’t a short visit to the Dr. I was being dropped off to stay there during the day. I know all of the people who work there, so it wasn’t so bad hanging out with them. They ended up hooking an IV up in me and filling me with some clear liquid.

As the day went on, they walked me, took some blood, took another pee sample, tried to make me eat food, and generally snuggled with me. By the afternoon, they had convinced me to have several nibbles of my food, and I was feeling loads better. I was especially energetic when I heard my pawrents come in. They got to see where I was hanging out all day. One of the super nice ladies that had been snuggling with me that day showed them how to operate the machine (Eddy says its called a pump) that the clear liquid they were putting in me comes out of. They ended up taking that home with us…

…or at least I thought we were going home. Little did I know, they had packed up the car while I was at the Dr., and we were now headed to the country, where my Blair lives, to stay for the week. My Blairs girlfriend let us stay at her house this week, just the three of us. I was so happy to have a yard to play in, and not to have all the stares of strangers in the city stop and talk to my pawrents about me. Especially now that I was hooked up to this IV machine.

The rest of my week has been a combination of being at our new, temporary, country home in the night (playing, getting visits from my Blair, staring at the kitty neighbours, and being hooked up to my IV at night) and going to the Dr.’s office during the day (to stay on the IV, get more tests done, and hang out with the girls who feed and snuggle me), while my pawrents are at work.

Apparently, my tests must have been getting better, because this afternoon I got unhooked from the IV, and don’t have to be on it tonight! Also, as of yesterday afternoon, I am back to eating my kibble! I am so happy to be back to being my normal puppy self, eating and not being hooked up to a machine.

My pawrents say I do have to go back to the Dr. on Saturday for more tests (10 day post chemo CBC, as well as to see how my kidneys are doing). But, for now, I am going to really enjoy my one day of freedom from the Dr.

Until next time!

Love, Hudson.

P.S. Mommy and Eddy got me a Ruffwear harness, and I love it! Helps so much with getting down steps and out of the car easily! Also, I think I look pretty darn handsome.

On Wednesday morning my pack (Mommy, Eddy, and I) gathered all the necessary supplies into the car and went on the, all too familiar, 1.5 hour drive to the Dr. for me to get my first round of Chemotherapy. When we got to the Dr. all of the exam rooms were busy, so we waited out in the front room to await further instructions. While we waited I spotted a new toy I just had to have. My pawrents couldn’t resist giving me what I wanted on a day like today. So I marched over to the receptionist with the toy in my mouth to add to my tab. The lady kindly cut off all the tags and gave it back to me. It is big, and red, and squeaky with a bunch of little tentacles on it. I loved squeaking and shaking it around in the waiting room.

Eventually the time came when an exam room was available, so we all got up and hopped over to the room, me proudly flinging around my new toy. I was playing tug with my Mommy when the Dr. came in to see us. He seemed pretty happy to see how easily I was getting around, and at how well my incision was healing. He seemed so happy, that I couldn’t resist swishing my tail back and forth and smooshing over to him for pats. After a little chat with my pawrents, my Dr. took me back into the back room, away from my Mommy and Eddy. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but I was so focused on finding where all the other puppies and kitties were at that I forgot to be nervous.

After a bunch of pokes, and something that made me feel a little sleepy, and again after something else that made me feel a little less sleepy, and after all my staples were removed, I finally got to see my pawrents again. Seemed like ages (they later told me it felt like forever for them too). But, again, after a quick chat with our Dr. I got to go out into the wonderfully warm sunny spring day to freedom. I was pretty happy for the long car ride home, at this point, as I was really sleepy after the events of the day. When we got home, I continued to sleep most of the night… but somewhere around 9:00pm I got all sorts of energy back. So I convinced my Mommy and Eddy to play with me for a few minutes before we went out for our bedtime walk and finally back for a long sleep.

Then, Thursday came all to quickly… and I didn’t feel so good.

When I woke up on Thursday morning I felt pretty nauseous. Not to the point where I was physically sick, but to the extent that I didn’t want to eat anything. No kibbies, no nothing. I turned my nose away at all my usual favourites. I did, however, really have to go to the bathroom. My Eddy usually takes me for my morning walks during the week, but this morning walk was a little different. I was still with my Eddy, but my belly was super sore this time. I went to the washroom twice, and my Eddy noticed that this wasn’t my usual morning bowel movements. Much to my embarrassment, he told Mommy when he got back, and then she called and told the Dr! The Dr. told my Mommy that I should go see my local Dr. right away to get me checked out.

So, again, I was back to the Dr. But this time it was my usual Dr, who is only a few minutes away. He checked me out, and didn’t see anything that was too scary (no fever or irregular heart rate). However, he did say that it isn’t usual to be this standoffish to food, or have a bad belly, this soon after chemo. To help me out he sent me home with some pills (antibiotics, probiotics, and anti nausients to be used as needed. He also sent me home with some fish oil to put on my food to help fight back against the cancer!).

My Mommy ended up staying home with me that day to monitor me, and also, to try and convince me to eat. She seemed pretty worried about me. I finally ended up eating at 5:00pm, when she made me some rice and beef mixture. Coincidentally, about a minute after I ate that, I had a whole bunch of energy and wanted to play! She then, a little while later, convinced me to have a few of my kibbies mixed in with the rice and beef. I tried to eat around the kibbies, but, on the odd occasion, a kibbie or two got in, and I remembered how much I liked them, so I ate it all. My pawrents were so pleased.

After that little scare, I have pretty much been my normal self these past few days. I have been loving playing with all my toys, as well as going on short walks around the block. I have also loved stopping in at some of my favourite shops to see some of the best people. I have also made sure to keep getting plenty of rest, and water (I cannot seem to get enough of that!).

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